


just another day

by chirithy (sylleblossum)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, Orphan Keith (Voltron), broganes, keith's birthday, sorry that the klance is barely there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-24
Updated: 2017-10-24
Packaged: 2019-01-22 10:11:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12479200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sylleblossum/pseuds/chirithy
Summary: As the years go by, Keith's birthday just didn't mean anything to him anymore, it was just another day.





	just another day

**Author's Note:**

> Heyo! Chirithy here...and a day late for Keith's birthday. I really hate not having internet, but that stuff is expensive. 
> 
> And if you look down below in the story, you can see me kind of self-projecting onto Keith (Seriously, Lance is my all-time favorite character and everything, but I find myself self-projecting onto Keith so much and have too many headcanons for him). Because, honestly, I hate my birthday, I hate thinking about it, and making a fuss about it. It's just another day to me. But, enough about me. 
> 
> Hope you like the story and all that. If anyone is waiting on 'of starflowers and stars', I'll hopefully be updating soon. I was hit by the midterms train from school, and everything is just a mess.
> 
> Oh yeah, almost forgot: I placed a couple of OCs in this story as a foster family for Keith in a scene. One is named and the other isn't, but they're my too most worked on OCs, and they are actually the original characters for the original plotline for of starflowers and stars. Claw and Micah are my children, and I can't wait to write more about them.
> 
> Talk to me on tumblr if you wish: [chirithy](http://chirithy.tumblr.com/)

Keith was 6, and he was looking at his father’s back. His dad was humming, and moving to the song in his head. Keith watched as his dad pulled a lighter from his back pocket of his pants. He lit something on fire in front of him and picked it up. He turned towards Keith, and Keith’s eyes light up at the sight of a chocolate cupcake with a candle on top of it. His dad started to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ as he walked closer to Keith, and soon the cupcake is slid in front of him. His dad bellowed out the last note of the song, causing Keith to giggle at his father’s goofiness. He looked from his father to the cupcake, biting his lip as he thought. His father nudged his shoulder.

“Hurry up and make a wish, shortstack,” Keith can’t remember what he wished for that year, just remembered the taste of chocolate on his tongue and wishing that that moment would never end.

XXXX

Keith was 10, and he can hear yelling coming from the downstairs. The foster family he was being housed in was never happy, they had put up a front for the foster agency, but once they left Keith in their care, the yelling and hatred came through, and Keith only seemed to add to it. They were yelling about Keith this time, he had gotten into a fight at school. The kid had made fun of his clothes and hair; the clothes were hand-me-downs from the orphanage and were too big, and his hair was too long, but Keith didn’t care. He could hear the mother say that she didn’t want him in her house anymore, and he knew that was only a matter of time that he was gone again. He curled into him, hugging his knees to his chest. He was watching a clock, and saw the moment the clock switch over from 11:59 PM on October 22nd to 12 AM October 23rd. There is an empty feeling in his chest and he rested his head against his knees. He willed himself not to cry, to not think of his father, to not think of anything. This day wasn’t special anymore, it was just another day.

XXXX

Keith was 13, and he was with a new family, and he got his first taste of flight. He was living near the desert again, he had a feeling he was close to his childhood home, but he wasn’t quite sure. And he had two foster fathers this time, one told him to call him Pa, and the other just told him to call him Claw (Keith couldn’t figure out if it was a nickname or his real name, but Pa also called him Claw so Keith let it slide). Claw had brought home an old hovercraft weeks before, and set to get it fixed up, and it was finally done. Claw took the craft for a spin first, before he pulled in front of the home. He smiled at Keith, who was looking at the hovercraft with interest.

“Want to go for a ride?” Keith nodded his head so fast he thought his head would fall off, and caused Claw to laugh to laugh at his excitement. He opened the side compartment and pulled out a helmet, throwing it at Keith. Keith fumbled with the catch, but quickly clipped it on, before he made his way over to Claw and the hovercraft. Claw had hopped down to help Keith step and adjust onto the back part of the seat. He gave Keith a quick once-over, before getting back on. He revved the engine once, causing Keith to jump in surprise. When Keith looked forward, he saw Claw smirking at him, and that was the only warning he got before they sped off. Keith had let out a yelp of surprise, and hid his face in Claw’s back for a few moments. He let himself get adjusted and get comfortable, before he pulled away from Claw slightly. He closed his eyes, and leaned his head back, letting the wind fly through his hair. When he opened his eyes, he watched the scenery speed by him, and watched as the hovercraft leave a trail of dust behind them. He let himself smile. Keith felt Claw speed up some, and looked over Claw’s shoulder to see that they were headed for a sand dune; Keith held onto Claw’s shirt tightly as they sped up the hill. And the next thing Keith knew was that they were flying. It felt like slow motion to him, but in that moment of flight, Keith felt free.

There was a huge smile on Keith’s face for the rest of the day, and he now knew what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. He wanted to fly.

XXXX

Keith was 16, and now technically, the Galaxy Garrison was considered his guardian. He kept his grades up and made sure to pass all the simulations they threw at him to keep them happy. He heard whispers of him being the Garrison’s next Golden Boy, so Keith assumed he was doing well. He hadn’t really made any friends during his time at the Garrison so far, but Keith didn’t let that bother him too much. He liked to be left alone, and he didn’t want to get attached to someone who might just leave him anyway.

It was the weekend and he was wandering the halls, reading random topics on his tablet. He had just pulled up a conspiracy about Roswell, when he heard his name be called.

“Keith Rhim?” He looked up to find someone of Asian descent standing in front of him; he was in civilian clothes, had black hair trimmed in an undercut, and was a good couple inches, maybe even a foot taller than Keith. Keith recognized him as Takashi Shirogane, one of the recent Garrison graduates, now turned instructor. Keith wondered for a second if he should salute but he could see that Shirogane was waiting for him for him to respond.

“Yes, that’s me,” Shirogane had smiled at him, and held out a hand for him to shake. Keith tucked his tablet under his armpit, before he shook Shirogane’s hand.

“It’s nice to meet you, Iverson told me about you,” Keith must have made a face, because now Shirogane was now laughing at him slightly. Keith had a strong dislike for Iverson; he didn’t like how he pushed people or how he instructed.

“Nothing bad, I mean. He told me that he was thinking about setting me up as your personal advisor, and told me to seek you out,” Keith raised his eyebrow at this, this was a golden opportunity to be instructed by Shirogane, who was becoming one of the best pilots the Garrison had. He might actually thank Iverson the next time he saw him; maybe not, he still didn’t like him.

“Sounds cool. What would you be doing as my advisor?” At this, Shirogane rubbed the back of his neck, looking a bit meek.

“I don’t actually know. I didn’t plan this far ahead, and Iverson didn’t tell me much,” Keith let a snort at that, that sounded like Iverson. He pulled his tablet from under his arm, unlocking it and going back to his article.

“Well, when you figure that out, you can find me,” He went to walk by Shirogane, but Shirogane stopped him again.

“Wait. Uh, I read your file, and saw it was your birthday. Do you want to go get some dinner and get to know each other? That might help the advising process,” Keith wasn’t looking at Shirogane, he was opening the calendar app on the tablet, and saw that Shirogane was correct, and that it was his birthday. He huffed, why did people make such a big deal out of birthdays? He turned back towards Shirogane, who was looking at him hopefully, and shrugged.

“Sure,”

XXXX

As the months went by, and Keith got to know Shirogane more, (‘Call me Shiro, Keith, please’) he felt like he had a friend. They had a lot in common; Shiro was an orphan was well, but was raised by his grandmother, and Keith was addicted to the cookies she sent every month, so much so that she sent him his own batch as well. Keith learned many things about Shiro; Shiro wasn’t as put together as everyone thought he was and his room was a mess, he pulled all-nighters and hated mornings, he loved really sugary coffee, he had a habit of singing random Disney songs, often forgot his right from his left and cried over kittens. 

In return, Shiro learned that Keith loved the stars because no matter where he was moved, they were always the same. He liked color of dark red, and didn’t understand many jokes. Shiro now took the time explain some of the jokes Keith looked confused about. He learned that Keith liked to sleep in a cold room under a heavy blanket and that he loved cheesy monster movies. That Keith loved chocolate, and tried to hoard it whenever he can and save it for a rainy or bad day. Keith found not minding Shiro finding things out about, and actually liked to talk to him about anything and nothing. Shiro was also the first one he came out as gay to, which in return, Shiro came out as bi to him and revealed he had a crush, and now that Keith knew Shiro’s crush, he liked to poke fun at him since it was on one of the other graduate-turned-instructor, Matt Holt.

“Keith, you should hear him gush about his little sister. He loves her so much, and I haven’t even met her yet and I want to adopt her,” Keith snorted from his spot on the floor as he typed up his essay on one of Jupiter’s moons. He was currently in Shiro’s dorm and Shiro made good background noise when he had to study. He leaned his head against the edge of the bed, looking up at Shiro.

“If you like him so much, why don’t you just ask him out?” Shiro covered his face and groaned, making Keith smirk.

“You know why. The Kerberos mission is coming up, and Iverson already told me I’m being assigned as the pilot. So, if I ask him out, I’d have to wait a year and a couple months to actually be with him,” Keith hummed at that; he didn’t like to be reminded about the Kerberos mission, he was going to be without Shiro for a long time and didn’t know how he was going to handle it. He felt a flick to his ear, making him frown more and send a glare towards Shiro, who was smiling down at him from his bed.

“Don’t get huffy on me about the mission now, you know I’m going to be messaging anytime I can,” Keith raised an eyebrow at him, that was news to him.

“I thought communications was for family only,” That caused Shiro to frown and look away from Keith.

“Right…I forgot,” Keith let the conversation end at that. He saw Shiro grabbed his phone and type something, before he went back to his essay.

XXXX

He knew it was his birthday for once and he was 17. He has known Shiro for a year now, and soon Shiro was going to be sent off on the Kerberos mission. It was only a few more weeks before launch. He was hiding out in his room, not wanting to socialize at all, when a knock came upon his door. He let out a huff and got out of his bed to open the door. Of course, it was Shiro; it was the only person that visited him in his dorm. Keith took a couple steps back to let Shiro into the room; Shiro stopped in the middle of the room before turning towards Keith and that was when Keith noticed the folder in Shiro’s hands. Shiro actually looked nervous for some reason.

“I know you’re upset about the upcoming mission, and that I won’t be able to communicate with you until I come back. But, um, I asked around for some advice, and actually Samuel Holt helped me with this,” He handed Keith the folder, but Keith waited for an explanation before he opened it.

“This might be a bit much, but Keith, I hope you realize I see you as a little brother, and it’s also going to hurt me when we can’t communicate during my time away. So, um, Keith, will you actually become my little brother?” Keith’s eyes widened in surprise and he threw open the folder to find adoption forms. It was mostly signed off on, and all it needed was Keith’s signature. He looked up at Shiro, who gave him a shaky smile.

“You don’t have to…if you don’t sign it, it can just be forgotten, and we can just be friends still. But, with this, Keith, we’ll be able to stay in touch while I’m gone. We can be a family, heck even Grandma Hana is asking when I’m bringing you to visit, she wants you in her family too. I know you hate being stuck at the Garrison, and when I come back, me and you can move off-base finally, maybe near the Holts,” Keith’s attention was wavering, he couldn’t actually believe this was happening.

“Do you mean it?” Keith finally spoke up, cutting off Shiro’s ramblings. Shiro looked at him in surprise, before smiling at him again.

“Of course, I do,” Keith threw the forms onto his bed, before pulling Shiro into a hug. He didn’t think about the tears streaming down his face, or about the way he was shaking. Instead, he thought about the way Shiro tighten the hug and let out a sigh of relief. It took a few minutes for Keith to calm down and pull away from the hug. He picked up the forms once more, and made his way to his desk and signed his name.

“You do realize you’re never getting rid of me now, right?” Keith said with a wobbly smile. Shiro was looking at the form, a smile filling his face.

“Wouldn’t have it any other way,”

“Oh good, that means I can tell Matt about how you cried over snakes the other day,” Keith smirked and making Shiro laugh.

“Oh no, you’re already filling out the little brother quotas, whatever shall I do,” Keith laughed at him.

“Get me a pizza?” Shiro snorted in laughter and finally looked up at him from the forms.

“You turn 17 and get adopted, and all you want is a pizza?” Keith shrugged.

“You’re right, not enough. I want pizza and lava cakes,” Shiro ruffled his hair, and pulled him into a half-hug.

“Whatever you want, kiddo,” It had been a while since Keith had made a birthday wish, and he made one right then and there, not realizing it was identical to his last one. He wished that this moment wouldn’t end.

XXXX

It was a few hours before the Kerberos launch, and Keith was allowed to watch it from right nearby thanks to his new status as Shiro’s little brother. He could see Matt Holt and someone who appeared to be Matt’s little sister over out of the way, but turned his attention to the rocket in front of him and Shiro. It was huge and daunting, and currently a reminder that Shiro was leaving him. He felt Shiro nudge his shoulder, pulling him out of his thoughts.

“Video calls are reserved for every week, but will get spotty the farther we get, but you can still send me regular messages and I’ll make sure to respond to every one,” Keith looked over at Shiro; he looked proud and so ready. This was part of his dreams, to explore outer space and find evidence of the unknown. Keith was proud of his new big brother, but he wished he had more time with him.

“Four months there, five months to study and search and then four months back,” Keith spoke up, making Shiro look at him. Shiro pulled him into another hug, Keith was losing count of how many he was given today. 

“You going to be up to your nose in assignments and team training, the time will pass by before you even realize,”

“Promise you’ll come back,”

“It’s going to take more than Pluto’s moon to get rid of me now, Keith, you’re stuck with me forever” Shiro said, pulling away from Keith and drawing out the syllables for the word 'forever', and making him laugh.

“Of course, I’m coming back. I’m not leaving you,” Keith gave him an unamused look, before pointing at the rocket. Shiro laughed again.

“You know what I meant, Keith. Don’t be rude to your older brother,” Keith kicked him lightly.

“Thought it was all a part of the little brother protocols,” Shiro was smiling still, pulling him into a half-hug, looking back up at the rocket.

“Yeah, you better read up on those by the time I get back,”

XXXX

Keith was 18 and it was just announced that the Kerberos mission was a failure and all lives were lost due to pilot error. Keith felt empty and angry, and he wanted answers. Shiro was one of the best pilots the Garrison had and there was no way that he had made an error. Iverson has been ignoring him, and no one would talk to him, and it only fueled his rage. But, he did what Shiro wanted of him, he continued with school, and ignored the whispers. But, when there was continuing talk of ‘pilot error’, Keith couldn’t help himself, and wound up punching Iverson in the face after a simulation when the man had told him the maneuver Keith just used could have saved the Kerberos mission.

He was expelled and found himself at a lost. He found himself leaving from the Garrison to the local town, with a pack on his back filled with what little belongings he had, and what he could salvage from Shiro’s room before they sent everything to Hana. He couldn’t bring himself to call her; he didn’t want to be a reminder to her of who she lost. He found out that the town outside the Garrison was actually his hometown, and knew instantly where to go. He had stolen a hovercraft from the Garrison before he set out; the Garrison didn’t need it anyhow.

Keith, soon, found himself in front of an old shack that was dusty red and filled with memories. He patted the top of the doorframe and found the key. He opened the door, and for a second, could have sworn his father was standing there in the dust. A song came to his head and a taste of chocolate filled his mouth, and soon the memory was gone and the mirage of his father was gone. He walked into the shack, throwing his stuff onto the rickety couch, causing a dust cloud. He sat down as well, and covered his eyes with his arm. For the first time in a long time, he willed himself not to cry and not to think. This day had just become another day, and he had no one once more.

XXXX

Keith is now 19. He had spent a year in the desert searching for whatever energy was drawing him. He found his brother without even looking for him really. He had been sent into space in a giant blue lion robot. He found people he could call friends. He found something to do with his life and still be able to fly.

It was hard to figure out the months and days when they were in space, and Keith could’ve sworn it was November or something. It was a rare day off, and for once, Keith wanted to sleep in. It was much to his dissatisfaction that a knock came upon his door. He pulled himself from out of the covers, grumbling, and made his way to the door. He found Lance on the other side. The other boy had taken one look at him and turned his head to hide his short laugh. His hair was disheveled and sticking up everywhere, and he was only wearing an overly-large shirt and his boxers. He knew he looked like a mess. 

“What do you want, Lance?” Keith crossed his arms over his chest, and waited for Lance to look his way. He could have sworn there was a slight blush to Lance’s face, but he ignored it when Lance finally looked at him. Lance cleared his throat.

“Breakfast is ready. Hunk made something special for you and told me to get you,” Keith raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“Why would Hunk make something special for me? What did I do?” Lance looked at him, completely confused.

“Are you serious?” Keith nodded. He really couldn’t really think of a reason why Hunk would make him anything special. Maybe, he had accidentally asked for Hunk to make something and just forgot about it.

“Whatever, let me get dressed real quick and I’ll head over,” Keith went to close his door to get ready when Lance grabbed his arm, making him stop.

“There’s no time! Come on before Pidge gets a hold of what he made first,” Lance started to pull him down the hallway and Keith struggled in his grip.

“Lance, I’m in my boxers,” Lance continued walking, but looked at him from over his shoulders. Keith was just realizing that Lance was also in his pajamas.

“There’s no regular clothes required, even Allura, Pidge and Shiro are in their PJs too,” Keith just let Lance continue to guide him towards the dining room.

“Is this some sort of pajama party or something?” Lance hummed in response at that.

“Or something like that, yeah,” It hit Keith that Lance was currently holding his hand as they walked the halls and he tried to fight the blush currently rushing to his cheeks. He had recently figured out his feelings for the blue paladin, and had confessed to Shiro. Shiro had simply smirked and decided payback was the best option, and poked fun at his little brother, just like Keith had done when he learned of his crush on Matt.

After a few minutes, they arrived in front of the dining room door, and the smell of chocolate hit Keith’s nose. He looked over at Lance who was smiling at him. The door opened to reveal everyone waiting for them, even as how Lance described them, still in their pajamas. Lance let go of his hand and Keith found himself being pushed to the empty chair next to his brother, Lance taking the seat next to him.

“Alright, Hunk! He’s ready for ya!” Lance had shouted at the kitchen door, which opened a moment later to reveal both Hunk and Coran holding multiple plates of something. Hunk slid the first plate in front of Keith, before Coran and him gave everyone else one. In front of Keith was a plate of what looked like chocolate chip pancakes, and the smell of them made Keith’s mouth water. Before he cut into them, he thanked Hunk for the meal.

“No problem, Keith, and happy birthday,” That made Keith stop and drop the silverware in his hands. Everyone looked at him when they heard the clatter of metal.

“Wait...What did you say?” Hunk looked at him confused.

“I said happy birthday,” Keith looked away from Hunk and to Shiro for confirmation. Shiro sensed Keith’s confusion before pulling out a device that Pidge had made and showed him the screen. It read October 23rd, it actually was Keith’s birthday.

“Shiro told us that you didn’t usually make a big deal of your birthday, but thought a favorite meal of yours would be the best way to celebrate. It’s not really chocolate but it does taste almost exactly like it. So I hope you like them,” Keith listened to Hunk talk, as he looked around at everyone who just simply smiled at him. And he suddenly felt the need to cry, and willed himself not to.

“I…um…thank you Hunk. These look amazing,” They seemed to leave at that and let Keith dig into the meal. Sure, it wasn’t exactly chocolate chip pancakes but they almost tasted like them and Keith loved every bite. Everyone was chattering around him, and he noticed Lance had turned towards him.

“So, you really didn’t know it was your birthday?” Keith swallowed another bite of his pancakes before shaking his head.

“I just don’t pay attention to the date, and like Shiro said, I don’t like to make a big deal about it. It’s just another day to me,” Lance frowned at his answer, but let him finish his breakfast. The meal went by quickly, and soon Keith found himself being pulled by Pidge this time, and towards the recreation area. It appeared to be set up to watch some movies.

“Shiro told me some of your favorite movies, and I found some on my laptop, and figured ‘hey we have the day, why not watch movies’” Keith smiled at the younger girl and nodded, before he sat down on the couch. He let Pidge pick a random movie, and watched as everyone gathered in to watch as well.

Keith didn’t really watch the movie, he just sat there, watching everyone around him. Hunk and Lance were laughing at something, while Pidge analyzed the movie. Shiro was explaining some things to Coran and Allura. He smiled to himself…why didn’t he realize he actually had a family? There was a flood of warmth filling his chest, and he felt wetness on his face. Suddenly, the movie was paused and someone said his name. He looked up to everyone staring at him concerned and worried.

“Keith, you ok?” Keith wiped at his face, and smiled.

“Yeah, I’m great,”

XXXX

After Keith calmed down and cleaned up his face, the movie marathon had continued. Lance had made slight fun of his movie tastes but he didn’t let that bother him. Pidge actually liked all the movies they watched, and made him swear to her that he’d watch more movies with her; he agreed of course. Hunk asked him if he wanted anything special for dinner, which he only responded that anything Hunk made was special enough; he could’ve sworn the smile that Hunk gave him could rival the stars. Coran and Allura wished him happy birthday, before disappearing somewhere in the castle.

Shiro had handed him the device he had shown him earlier. It reminded him of a tablet, and looked to Shiro for an explanation.

“Happy birthday, little brother. Pidge put a bunch of books on there for you, so consider this a joint gift from the two of us,” Shiro pulled him into a hug after Keith thanked him. He ruffled Keith’s hair, laughing as Keith tried to swat away his hand, and told him he’d see him later and left Keith alone. He got more comfortable on the couch and was about to unlock the tablet when he saw standing in the corner of his eye. He looked over to find Lance, looking a bit sheepish, holding something behind his back.

“So, Shiro said to go easy on the gifts, but with my family, it’s usually go big or go home,” Keith raised an eyebrow at him, but Lance wouldn’t look at him, but instead walked closer to him, and actually sat next to him on the couch.

“Just here,” Lance handed him something soft and dark red, but it was wrapped around something hard as well. He unfurled the soft thing first, finding it to be a sweater. He couldn’t tell what it was made of, but he could tell it was hand-knitted and really soft. The hard object fell out of the sweater and onto his lap. He placed the sweater to the side and picked up the new item, finding it wrapped in paper. He unwrapped it to find a knife in an iridescent purple coloring. It looked like it was made with glass but was as hard as stone. He looked over to Lance for an explanation.

“I got it from the Mermaid planet. It was one of the weapons the rebels gave me and told me to keep. I figured you’d like it. It’s made of sea glass, but it’s almost as tough as steel. And the sweater, well, the castle gets really cold at time so I made one for everyone. I just happened to finish yours first,” Keith smiled, setting the knife down to pull on the sweater. He wrapped it around himself, and sighed with content about the warmth of it. He looked over at Lance, smiling even more.

“Thank you, Lance. I love it,” That made Lance smile, and Keith definitely could tell this time that he was blushing. Lance looked he had more to say, but was holding back.

“Lance, you okay?” Lance nodded, biting his lip.

“I just…have one last thing, and please don’t hate me for this,” Keith started to ask why would he ever hate Lance when he cut himself off at the feeling of something being pressed against his cheek. Keith’s eyes widened and quickly turned his head, once he felt Lance pull away. Lance just kissed him. Keith’s face probably rivaled his lion at the moment, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care. He, instead, grabbed Lance’s hand and pulled him closer. Lance looked shocked and was trying to figure out why Keith was pulling him in closer. Keith really hoped he didn’t misinterpret when he pulled Lance into a chaste kiss on the lips.

Keith started to pull away from the kiss, when he heard Lance sigh and push in closer to him and the kiss, bringing an arm around his neck. They pulled away and pushed their foreheads together, smiles adorning the faces. 

“I didn’t misunderstand, right? That’s what you meant by the kiss? You like me back, right?” Keith asked, looking at Lance. Lance was nodding, just tightening his hold on Keith.

“Yes. I like you. I like your recklessness, I like your hotheadness, your mullet, your weird jacket, I just like everything about you,” Keith pulled him into another quick kiss.

“I like you too,” They got more comfortable on the couch, staying close to each other, not wanting to let go. And Keith smiled to himself. He could honestly say this was his best birthday so far, and it wasn't just another day now.


End file.
